This invention relates generally to the personal care of humans, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus utilizing ultrasonic vibratory energy for removal of foreign substances such as blackheads from the skin, and the treatment of pimples.
This invention deals with the discoveries made when using an ultrasonic motor with a plastic or metallic output head to remove blackheads and to express the pus from pimples. The underlying principle is an application of the broad thermal equivalence principle, which recognizes that it is possible, through the use of mechanical high frequency vibrations in coherent form to accomplish results which otherwise require the use of elevated temperatures, which latter is equivalent to using mechanical high frequency vibrations in coherent form.
The present invention involves the use of ultrasonic mechanical vibrations in conjunction with various fluids that obtain a lowering of the viscosity of either the sebaceous contents of a blackhead, or the whitish pus matter in a pimple. At the same time, the output contour of the ultrasonic tool is so fashioned that a gentle static pressure exerted against the skin around a blackhead or pimple is transmitted through the surrounding tissue into the region containing the matter to be expressed (i.e, pushed out), and a fluid ideally suited for the particular application is used in conjunction therewith.
There are a number of problems here, and some background is needed to understand the benefits which accrue from the subject invention. In the first place, ordinary methods of removing blackheads or squeezing pimples requires the use of a squeezing force which reddens and bruises the surrounding tissue. This is not only uncomfortable, but it also leaves a mark on the skin which it takes some time to heal or subside. A device which materially lessens or removes this undesirable effect is a definite and important advance in this dermatological art.